The Bell Witch: The Full Account Read Free Page B

she
    showed adoration for a select few. When John Bell’s
    wife Lucy once became ill, Kate sang and fed her
    hazelnuts out of thin air to give her strength and lift
    her spirits. While Lucy Bell was benefiting from
    Kate’s benevolence, John Bell came down with a
    mysterious ailment and Elizabeth began experiencing
    fainting and seizure-like episodes while being
    tortured at the hands of Kate.
    After terrorizing the Bell home and the Red River
    Settlement for some four years, “Kate” left and stayed
    gone for seven years, returning in 1828. During her
    short return-visit, it is said that she had a series of
    discussions with John Bell, Jr., where she predicted
    the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War
    I. “Kate” promised to return 107 years after she bade
    farewell to John Bell, Jr. Did she ever leave?

    16 P A T
    F I T Z H U G H
    Things have not been right in the area since Kate
    first appeared in 1817. Over the years, the written
    eyewitness accounts of those who experienced her
    have become collectively known as the legend of the
    “Bell Witch.” The legend has been published several
    times over the last century, with each author sharing
    his or her unique perspective on the case.
    This book is no different in some regards; however,
    I have researched the legend for over twenty years,
    utilizing all available resources to put the historical
    aspects of the legend into the proper context. My
    resources include interviews with descendants of
    those who actually experienced the events, public
    records in five different states, family Bibles and
    memoranda, church records, other published (and
    unpublished) accounts, and personal visits to the
    actual sites that figured into the legend.
    Perhaps the most intriguing element of this epic
    tale of terror is that it involves real people, places,
    and dates. The victims were honest, educated, and
    prominent citizens of their day, who walked the same
    ground as you and I, but at a time in history so far-
    distanced from our own that their plight is beyond
    our comprehension. The remarkable events that
    took place in the Red River Settlement between 1817
    and 1828 changed their lives forever. This is the
    story of those people and their legacy.
    The stories of specific encounters with the so-
    called “Bell Witch” have undoubtedly been distorted
    and embellished with the passage of time; however,
    the basic framework remains constant — there was
    something very wrong in the Red River Settlement of
    Robertson County, Tennessee during the early
    1800’s, and it was very real to the men, women, and
    children who experienced it.
    In addition to the many stories I am about tell you,
    some of which seem to hold greater veracity than

    THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT
    17
    others, I have incorporated into this book a number
    of historical facts and related information that I feel
    is invaluable in the pursuit of understanding the
    legend of the “Bell Witch.” While some of the
    following stories might be best classified as “folklore,”
    the historical facts I am now bringing to light should
    serve to bind fiction and reality together and strike a
    reasonable balance.
    Parapsychologists and scholars have considered
    this AUTHENTIC haunting to be one of the greatest
    supernatural phenomena known to the world. Even
    though the people who experienced “Kate” are long
    gone, their sworn affidavits, manuscripts, and
    legacies live on — and this, dear reader, is their
    story.

    Pat Fitzhugh
    Nashville, Tennessee

    18 P A T
    F I T Z H U G H
    A WORD OF THANKS

    I

    AM SO FORTUNATE to have so many people to
    thank. The following list is by no means
    complete, but it starts where it should start:
    with you, the reader. If you have wondered whether
    an author would ever think enough of you to say
    “THANK YOU!” – you can stop wondering. This book
    is for YOU.
    First, I would like to thank my family for the love,
    support, and perseverance they gave me as I